Ukraine looks to host national security advisers, Zelenskyy says

Daryna Krasnolutska, Bloomberg News on May 3, 2025

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Ukraine wants to host a meeting of national security advisers from the U.S., U.K., France and Germany at a yet-to-be-determined date to discuss further steps in the peace process, said President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

The advisers held gatherings in London and Paris in April to exchange views on how to end Russia’s war in Ukraine that’s well into its fourth year.

At the same time, President Donald Trump’s special envoy Steve Witkoff has traveled to Moscow in recent weeks to meet with Russian President Vladimir Putin and other top officials.

Mike Waltz, U.S. national security adviser, was abruptly ousted this week, and Secretary of State Marco Rubio was named as his interim replacement.

“I am not ready to tell you the date now as there were some changes in the U.S.,” Zelenskyy told reporters late Friday in his office in Kyiv. “Secretary of State Rubio has the powers of the national security adviser, and I don’t think anyone will wait for a new appointment.”

Advisers from the U.S., Europe, Ukraine are in constant contact, Zelenskiy added.

The meeting with Trump at the Vatican a week ago, minutes ahead of the funeral of Pope Francis, was “the best we had,” Zelenskyy said.

The two leaders discussed Ukraine’s proposal for 30-day ceasefire, sanctions against Russia, air defense needs and the deal that gives U.S. access to Ukrainian natural resources, he said. That pact was signed in Washington this week.

“I raised a question of the U.S. sanctions steps. I cannot tell you the details, but what he told me sounds very strong,” Zelenskyy told reporters.

Moscow has so far refused to accept U.S. demands for a truce lasting at least 30 days, and Putin has maintained maximalist positions for any ceasefire, including that Russia is granted control of four eastern and southeastern Ukrainian regions it annexed illegally in 2022 but doesn’t fully occupy.

Meanwhile, Zelenskyy agreed to grant the U.S. control over some future resource revenues in order to maintain Trump’s support, and has backed calls for an unconditional truce.

U.S. officials have prepared a set of options for Trump to increase economic pressure on Russia, Bloomberg News reported Friday, citing people familiar with the matter. The people cautioned that Trump has made no decision yet, as diplomatic efforts were ongoing.

Ukraine is also seeking to have a U.S. security guarantee backstop to prevent future Russian attacks, Zelenskyy said.

“There are two directions: either we have a foreign contingent in large numbers, or it is a smaller contingent that also has something like Article 5,” Zelenskyy said referring to NATO’s core statute. “A model like Israel has, which to a large extent is the U.S. backstop,” he added.